Agriculture food and safety
Brésil - Mesures visant la noix de coco desséchée
Le 21 février 1997 l’Organe d’appel a publié son rapport sur l’affaire “Bresil - Mesures visant la noix de coco dessechee”.
United States - Definitive Safeguard Measures on Imports of Wheat Gluten from the European Communities
On 17 March 1999 the EC requested consultations with the US in respect of definitive safeguard measures imposed by the US on imports of wheat gluten from the European Communities. The EC contended that by a Proclamation of 30 May 1998 and a Memorandum of the same date by the US President under which the US imposed definitive safeguard measures in the form of a quantitative limitation on imports of wheat gluten from the EC effective as of 1 June 1998. The EC considered these measures to be in violation of Articles 2 4 5 and 12 of the Agreement on Safeguards; Article 4.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture; and Articles I and XIX of GATT 1994.
Inde - Restrictions quantitatives à l’importation de produits agricoles, textiles et industriels
Le 06 avril 1999 l’OMC a publié le rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire “Inde - Restrictions quantitatives à l’importation de produits agricoles textiles et industriels”.
Indonesia - Importation of Horticultural Products, Animals and Animal Products
On 8 May 2014 New Zealand requested consultations with Indonesia concerning certain measures it imposes on the importation of horticultural products animals and animal products. New Zealand claims that the measures are inconsistent with: - Articles III:4 X:1 and XI:1 of the GATT 1994; - Article 4.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture; - Articles 1.2 1.5 1.6 2.2 3.2 3.3 5.1 and 5.2 of the Import Licensing Agreement; and - Articles 2.1 and 2.15 of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection.
Australia - Measures Affecting Importation of Salmon
On 5 October 1995 Canada requested consultations with Australia in respect of Australia’s prohibition of imports of salmon from Canada based on a quarantine regulation. Canada alleged that the prohibition is inconsistent with Articles XI and XIII of the GATT 1994 and also inconsistent with the SPS Agreement.
Communautés européennes - Mesures affectant l’amiante et les produits en contenant
Le 12 mars 2001 l’Organe d’appel a publié son rapport sur l’affaire “Communautés européennes - Mesures affectant l’amiante et les produits en contenant”.
Japon - Mesures visant les produits agricoles
Le 27 octobre 1998 l’OMC a publié le rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire “Japon - Mesures visant les produits agricoles”.
United States - Tax Treatment for "Foreign Sales Corporations"
On 18 November 1997 the European Communities requested consultations with the United States in respect of Sections 921-927 of the US Internal Revenue Code and related measures establishing special tax treatment for “Foreign Sales Corporations” (FSC). The European Communities contended that these provisions were inconsistent with the United States' obligations under Articles III:4 and XVI of the GATT 1994 Articles 3.1(a) and (b) of the SCM Agreement and Articles 3 and 8 of the Agreement on Agriculture.
United States - Tax Treatment for "Foreign Sales Corporations" - Recourse 1
On 18 November 1997 the European Communities requested consultations with the United States in respect of Sections 921-927 of the US Internal Revenue Code and related measures establishing special tax treatment for “Foreign Sales Corporations” (FSC). The European Communities contended that these provisions were inconsistent with the United States' obligations under Articles III:4 and XVI of the GATT 1994 Articles 3.1(a) and (b) of the SCM Agreement and Articles 3 and 8 of the Agreement on Agriculture.
Comunidades Europeas - Medidas que afectan a la carne y los productos cárnicos (hormonas)
El 18 de agosto de 1997 la OMC hizo público el informe del Grupo especial sobre el caso “Communidades Europeas - Medidas que afectan a la carne y los productos cárnicos (hormonas)”.
Japon - Mesures visant les produits agricoles
Le 22 février 1999 l’Organe d’appel a publié son rapport sur l’affaire “Japon - Mesures visant les produits agricoles”.
Estados Unidos - Subvenciones al algodón americano (upland)
La OMC ha emitido hoy (31 de agosto de 2009) dos informes relativos a los procedimientos de arbitraje con respecto a la diferencia entre los Estados Unidos y el Brasil sobre el algodón (DS267).
Australie - Mesures visant les importations de saumons
Le 20 octobre 1998 l’Organe d’appel a publié son rapport sur l’affaire “Australie - Mesures visant les importations de saumons”.
États-Unis - Normes concernant l’essence nouvelle et ancienne formules
Le 29 janvier 1996 l’OMC a publié le rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire “États-Unis - Normes concernant l’essence nouvelle et ancienne formules”.
Estados Unidos - Determinadas prescripciones en materia de etiquetado indicativo del país de origen (EPO)
El 18 de noviembre de 2011 la OMC publicó el informe del Grupo Especial que había examinado las reclamaciones del Canadá y México respectivamente con respecto al asunto “Estados Unidos — Determinadas prescripciones en materia de etiquetado indicativo del país de origen (EPO)” (DS384 y DS386).
United States - Tax Treatment for "Foreign Sales Corporations"
On 30 August 2002 the WTO issued the dispute panel reports in the case "United States - Tax treatment for "foreign sales corporations"".
Australia - Medidas que afectan a la importación de manzanas procedentes de Nueva Zelandia
El 29 de noviembre de 2010 el Órgano de Apelación hizo público el informe sobre el caso “Australia - Medidas que afectan a la importación de manzanas procedentes de Nueva Zelandia”.
Canadá - Medidas que afectan a la importación de leche y a las exportaciones de productos lácteos
El 13 de octubre de 1999 el Órgano de Apelación hizo público el informe sobre el caso “Canadá - Medidas que afectan a la importación de leche y a las exportaciones de productos lácteos”.
Australie - Mesures visant les importations de saumons
Le 12 juin 1998 l’OMC a publié le rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire “Australie - Mesures visant les importations de saumons”.
Japón - Contingentes de importación de algas secas y algas sazonadas
El 01 de febrero de 2006 la OMC hizo público el informe del Grupo especial sobre el caso “Japón - Contingentes de importación de algas secas y algas sazonadas”.
Communautés européennes - Mesures prohibant l’importation et la commercialisation de produits dérivés du phoque
Le 22 mai 2014 l’Organe d’appel de l’OMC a remis ses rapports dans l’affaire “Communautés européennes — Mesures prohibant l’importation et la commercialisation de produits dérivés du phoque (DS400 / DS401)”.
Federación de Rusia - Medidas relativas a la importación de porcinos vivos, carne de porcino y otros productos de porcino procedentes de la Unión Europea
El 19 de agosto de 2016 la OMC hizo público el informe del Grupo especial sobre el caso “Federación de Rusia - Medidas relativas a la importación de porcinos vivos carne de porcino y otros productos de porcino procedentes de la Unión Europea”.
European Communities - Export Subsidies on Sugar - Complaint by Australia
On 27 September 2002 Australia and Brazil requested consultations with the European Communities concerning the export subsidies provided by the EC in the framework of its Common Organisation of the Market for the sugar sector. The requests concerned Council Regulation (EC) No. 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the EC’s common organization of the markets in the sugar sector and all other legislation regulations administrative policies and other instruments relating to the EC regime for sugar and sugar containing products including the rules adopted pursuant to the procedure referred to in Article 42(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1260/2001 and any other provision related thereto. On 14 March 2003 Thailand requested consultations with the European Communities on the same matter.
India - Restricciones cuantitativas a las importaciones de productos agrícolas, textiles e industriales
El 06 de abril de 1999 la OMC hizo público el informe del Grupo especial sobre el caso “India - Restricciones cuantitativas a las importaciones de productos agrícolas textiles e industriales”.
Australie - Mesures visant les importations de saumons - Recours 1
Le 18 février 2000 l’OMC a publié le rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire “Australie - Mesures visant les importations de saumons - Recours du Canada à l’article 21:5”.
European Communities - Measures Affecting Asbestos and Asbestos – Containing Products
On 28 May 1998 Canada requested consultations with the EC in respect of measures imposed by France in particular Decree of 24 December 1996 with respect to the prohibition of asbestos and products containing asbestos including a ban on imports of such goods. Canada alleged that these measures violate Articles 2 3 and 5 of the SPS Agreement Article 2 of the TBT Agreement and Articles III XI and XIII of GATT 1994. Canada also alleged nullification and impairment of benefits accruing to it under the various agreements cited.
Illicit Trade and Infectious Diseases
We collect a novel dataset that covers about 130 countries and the six four-digit live animal categories in the Harmonized System (HS) over a sixteen-year period to study the link between illicit trade in live animals and threat to animal health from infectious diseases.
Future Resilience to Diseases of Animal Origin
The WTO Secretariat has published a new information note about trade issues associated with the spread of diseases of animal origin. The note maps out the international framework in place to address these issues along with ongoing efforts to ensure safe trade in animals and animal products including in wildlife.
SPS Measures and Trade
In an attempt to disentangle the impact of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures on trade patterns we estimate a Heckman selection model on the HS4 disaggregated level of trade. Using SPS measures obtained from the SPS Information Management System of the WTO and controlling for zero trade flows we find that SPS concerns reduce the probability of trade in agricultural and food products consistently. However the amount of trade is positively affected by SPS measures conditional on market entry. This suggests that SPS measures constitute an effective market entry barrier. Additionally we split SPS measures into requirements related to (i) conformity assessment and (ii) product characteristics. Both types of measures are implemented by policy makers to achieve a desired level of health safety yet entail diverse trade costs. We find that conformity assessment measures hamper not only the likelihood to trade but also the amount of trade while measures related to product characteristics do not affect the market entry decision but have a strong positive impact on the trade volume. This suggests that trade outcomes crucially depend on the measure policy makers decide to implement.
Standards, Regulations and COVID-19
Mainly affecting trade in medical products and food such standards and regulatory measures typically account for two-thirds of the notifications members submit to the WTO in line with obligations under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). These agreements set out disciplines for standards and regulatory measures used to protect human animal and plant life and health the environment and product safety. The paper notes that most of the COVID-related notifications were submitted under the emergency/urgent notification provisions in the two agreements in response to the pressing health problems posed by the pandemic. The notifications mainly concern trade in personal protective equipment food live animals medical equipment and medicines. The notified measures fall under four main categories: streamlining certification procedures; ensuring safe medical goods; making food available by relaxing technical regulations; and addressing COVID-19 risks from international trade in live animals.
Agricultural Trade and Development
The system of global agricultural and food trade is undergoing rapid processes of change with important implications for economic development. In this paper we document and discuss these changes; including the rapid growth and structural change in agri-food trade the increased consolidation in food supply chains the proliferation of public and private food standards high and volatile food prices and increased vertical coordination in the chains. We investigate what the implications are of these changes for developing countries for their participation in international agricultural trade as well as for economic development income mobility and poverty reduction in rural areas.
COVID-19 and Agriculture
The WTO Secretariat has published a new information note examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on world agricultural trade. The paper notes that agricultural trade has fared better than other sectors and that initial measures focused on guaranteeing the immediate availability of food have been followed by a second phase of policies seeking to mend broken supply chains and help producers to cope with the “new normal” situation.
The WTO's TPR Coverage of SPS Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
The main purpose of the paper is to present the coverage of SPS systems in SSA countries by TPR reports and their main findings. It also opens the discussion as to whether the SPS analytical framework in TPR reports has been sufficiently comprehensive and beneficial in guiding technical assistance (TPR follow-up) activities in SSA. At the outset we briefly present the strategic importance of agriculture in SSA countries with a description of the link between an effective SPS regulatory system and the performance of agriculture.
“Agricultural Products” and “Fishery Products” in the GATT and WTO
The WTO Agreement on Agriculture applies to those “agricultural products” as defined in its Annex 1. This definition expressly excludes “fish and fish products” from the scope of application of the Agreement. In light of this exclusion the paper is intended to provide a historical account of the relationship between agricultural products and fishery products in the context of the negotiations leading to and during the GATT period up to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and some of its implications for WTO negotiations.
Non-Reciprocal Preference Erosion Arising from MFN Liberalitzation in Agriculture
This paper estimates the risk of preference erosion for non-reciprocal preference recipients in the agricultural sector as a consequence of MFN tariff cuts. It is based on a simulation of a single tariff-cutting scenario. The measure of preference erosion risk is the difference in preference margins enjoyed by individual suppliers to the QUAD (Canada EU Japan United States) markets before and after a MFN tariff reduction multiplied by the associated trade flow. The paper does not attempt to determine how losses in preference margins translate into trade outcomes but it does highlight which products and which non-reciprocal preference beneficiaries are the most vulnerable to erosion effects in the major developed country markets. Overall the paper finds that the risk of preference erosion is small but some countries are strongly affected in particular product lines (notably sugar and bananas).
Risk Assessment in the International Food Safety Policy Arena
Two institutions provide multilateral venues for countries to discuss food safety measures at the international level: the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and the World Trade Organization. Both institutions encourage their members to base food safety standards on scientific evidence. In this paper we provide a description of how food safety related scientific evidence is generated and how it is used in the context of risk assessment for international standard-setting at CODEX and in WTO trade disputes. In particular we discuss the processes leading to policy conclusions on the basis of scientific evidence with a focus on the interactions involved between private and public sector actors and those between “scientific experts” and others. We identify weaknesses in the current institutional set-up and provide suggestions on how to improve the interaction between different players at the national and international level so as to strengthen the existing system and increase its cost efficiency.